Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has assured that the federal government is considering the views of the families of high-profile murder victims in relation to the plan to abolish the death penalty.

He said the government was studying their objections as well as their claim that the abolition of the capital punishment would remove the seriousness of murder and result in a rise in crime.

"Yes, we are studying if the claim is accurate or not. People cannot form their assessment unless we have an actual study that there is a rise (in crime) or not...